


to give and take

by yourhope



Series: Dianakko Week 2020 [5]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, from both parties, it’s not angsty i promise, there’s just some concern and worrying, these girls just care about each other so much ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26163088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourhope/pseuds/yourhope
Summary: After a flying accident leaves her injured, Akko learns something important about how Diana’s healing magic works.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish & Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Series: Dianakko Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895362
Comments: 7
Kudos: 133





	to give and take

**Author's Note:**

> For Dianakko Week 2020 day 5: Hurt/Comfort!

When Akko wakes, it’s to a dull ache on the side of her skull. Her eyes flutter open, squinting at the daylight washing over her through the window beside her bed. But wait—She isn’t in _her_ bed. She isn’t in her room, she soon notices.

Luckily, she’s able to recognize her surroundings within a mere second. After all, it’s a place she’s become quite acquainted with during her stay at Luna Nova. The school’s infirmary.

Akko isn’t entirely sure why she's here. Clearly the pain in her head has something to do with it. She tries to think back to how she obtained the injury. She’s immensely relieved to discover her memory hadn’t been affected because she’s able to recall what she was doing beforehand with ease. 

She was outdoors. She was on her broom. She was flying, and she was fast. _Too_ fast. She remembers there were shouts telling her to slow down, but she couldn’t. She still doesn’t have the best control over her broom. Before she knew it, she was screaming. And falling. Then it was black.

That explains it. Though, Akko has to wonder how bad her fall really was if it landed her in the infirmary, unconscious. She’s fallen a bunch of times, hit her head quite a lot too, but never hard enough to lose consciousness and usually some bandages and an icepack did her good. This fall must have been something else.

She tries to move, hoping her body isn’t too banged up aside from her head. And while her muscles are sore, she’s able to pull herself up to rest on her elbows. That’s when she sees her. Across from her, in a chair at the foot of her bed, sits Diana. Her palms rest in her lap, her head is lolled to the side, and her eyes are closed.

“Diana?” Akko calls out in a groggy voice. But Diana doesn’t respond. Her breathing is even and her body rises and falls slowly in a rhythm Akko recognizes. She’s asleep.

Despite her lack of response, Akko’s voice is able to catch the attention of another person, however.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” a familiar voice says from the other side of the room. Ah yes, Akko’s old friend. The school nurse. She tears her eyes away from Diana to see the older witch rise from her desk and begin to make her way toward her number one patient.

“Nurse Dorothy,” Akko greets. As usual, her casualness is met with a frown, but as much as these two see of each other, Akko thinks it’s only fitting to be on a first name basis. Nurse Dorothy doesn’t agree.

“Miss Kagari,” she comes to a halt just a few feet from Akko’s bed and purses her lips, “you sure did a number on yourself this time.”

Akko sees they’re not mincing words. “How bad was it?”

“Well, you were out for close to half an hour. Seems you hit your head rather hard. Even with your track record, it was quite concerning for everyone. You should be thanking that one,” Nurse Dorothy nudges her head in Diana’s direction, “Told me the minute she saw what happened, she rushed to you and performed a healing spell. I was shocked to see there wasn’t much mending I had to do after she brought you in.”

“Really?”

Nurse Dorothy sends her a prideful smile. “She’s a sharp witch. And nothing quite compares to the healing magic of the Cavendish. Look at you, you hardly even have a scratch. Just some soreness, I’m assuming?” Akko nods. “Yes, you’ll need to get some more rest and take it easy for a bit. Same goes for her,” she gestures toward Diana. Akko furrows her brow.

“What do you mean? Is she okay?”

“Oh, she’ll be fine. Healing magic is just more taxing than people think. Especially when it’s someone so young using such an advanced spell.”

“Oh,” Akko mutters, feeling concern settle over her like a blanket. “I… didn’t know that.”

“Just leave her be. A nap will do her good.” Nurse Dorothy turns to walk away, but pauses for a moment to add, “It’s a good thing you’ve got a friend like her looking out for you, so try not to give her too much strife. Heaven knows I get enough of it already,” she finishes under her breath.

She leaves Akko to herself, who continues watching over Diana. She leans back onto her pillow, tired of holding herself up, but she curls into her side and the angle allows her a perfect view of Diana as she goes on sleeping soundly.

Akko thinks about what Nurse Dorothy told her. How healing magic is more taxing than people think. How it was such an advanced spell Diana used. How she’s now going to need rest, as if her body had been the one to go through such a physical toll.

An uncertain feeling climbs its way up Akko’s spine. Various thoughts circle through her head and she’s unable to grasp hold of a specific one. She’s grateful Diana was kind enough to help her after she had gotten hurt, but she doesn’t know what to think. It’s confliction that stops her from finding a solid answer. She isn’t sure what to feel.

Akko remains quiet for quite a while, at the very least not wanting to disturb Diana. At a certain point, Nurse Dorothy tells her she needs to go speak with the headmistress about something and tells her to be on her best behavior while she’s gone. “Wouldn’t want to come back to another accident,” she warns and Akko can’t even ensure that won’t happen because it _has_ once or twice before.

But once she’s gone, it’s just her and Diana in the silence of the infirmary. 

After a moment, Akko decides to pull herself up into a sitting position. She looks around the room, surveying the apothecary cabinets that line the walls. They’re filled with potions and ointments and herbs and balms and anything that could help a person with an or injury or disease. Maybe if something is more serious, they wouldn’t be able to get rid of it entirely, but it would still be a big help. And Akko could handle wearing a bandage or a cast for a few days while some magical ointment helped her heal at an accelerated speed. At least then, it wouldn’t be taxing for anyone else.

An elongated breath leaves Akko’s mouth and she brings up a hand to rest her chin in her palm. She distracts herself from her thoughts by gazing out the window next to her bed. She watches the clouds float by and drums her fingertips against her cheek to pass the time. It isn’t until a light rustling noise catches her attention that she stops.

Akko turns back around and sees Diana is finally coming to. Her face scrunches together as she rouses awake and she rubs at her eyes before they open fully. Within a second, they land on Akko and widen.

“Akko!” She’s up from her chair with a speed Akko didn’t expect and before she can even blink, Diana is kneeling over her, taking hold of her hand. “Are you alright?” she asks, inspecting Akko’s head.

“Uh yeah,” Akko plasters a smile on her face. “Hardly even a scratch. The nurse told me you did some special healing magic and now I’m almost as good as new.”

Diana begins to let out a breath of relief, but then catches herself. “Almost? Are you having any problems?”

She brings her other hand up and her fingers ghost over the part of Akko’s head that still has a minor ache, but Akko waves her off. “No, no, it’s fine. Just a little sore.”

Diana relaxes. “Oh. That’s normal.”

“Yeah, Nurse Dorothy says I just need some rest.”

Diana cracks a small grin. “You’ve got to stop calling her that, you know.”

Akko ignores her and says, “She… also said that you’d need to rest too.”

Diana’s face falls slightly at Akko’s tone. “Yes… I suppose she’s right. But is something wrong?”

Akko pulls her mouth to the side and looks away. “Nurse Dorothy told me healing magic is more taxing than people think. Especially when it’s a young person using such an advanced spell. That’s why you were asleep this whole time.”

Diana slowly nods. “Ah. She would be correct.” She lets go of Akko’s hand and pulls away, only to take a seat at the edge of Akko’s bed. “And I take it something about that bothers you?”

Akko sucks in a deep breath through her nose and frowns. “Well, yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really grateful you helped me out, but I don’t like knowing you healing me means you might suffer in return.”

Diana releases a sigh and arches an eyebrow. “Getting a bit of sleep is hardly what I call suffering, Akko.”

“Still. If it’s going to take a toll on you, you don’t have to do it.”

“Of _course_ I have to do it. Especially when you’re hurt like that,” Diana says firmly. “You were unconscious. You were _bleeding._ I’ve seen you trip and fall and get scrapes here and there, but never anything like that. I… panicked. Maybe you would have been fine if I didn’t do anything and let the nurse take care of you instead, but I wasn’t thinking about that. Before I knew it, I just had my wand and I was performing the healing spell. And yes, this kind of magic can be very taxing, especially if it’s to be done properly and thoroughly, but I do not regret helping you.”

“But you were out for so long,” Akko argues.

“I fell _asleep_. I was never hurt.”

“But—”

“ _Akko_ ,” Diana groans. But as exasperated as she might be, she doesn’t let go of her patience. “Healing takes energy. Non-magical doctors will spend hours in surgery expending their energy to save someone, and just as they take the time to rest afterward, the same concept applies to me. It isn’t any easier for witches because we can wave a wand and be done within minutes.”

“And the more advanced a spell, the more energy gets taken, right?”

“The more energy I _give_ ,” Diana emphasizes. Akko knows her rewording is intentional because she doesn’t want any negative connotations with what it is she does. “Nothing gets taken from me. I willingly share my energy in order to heal. And it’s _alright_ ,” she presses. “I know my limits, I know which lines I cannot cross. And in regards to the healing spell I used on you, unless I performed it a hundred more times today, it isn’t going to be detrimental to my health.”

Akko hesitates for a moment. “Really?”

“Really,” Diana chuckles. “I appreciate your concern, but I’ve studied healing long enough to know what is and isn’t safe.” Her voice drops ever so slightly and her eyes flicker away from Akko’s as she adds, “I’ve also seen firsthand the effects of overexertion that come from healing and it is not something I take lightly. You have my word.”

There’s something so deep and heavy in what Diana implies and Akko knows her well enough to understand what it is. A surge of guilt hits her right in the middle of her chest.

“Of course. I’m sorry.” Diana meets her eye and gives her a soft, reassuring smile. Whatever weight is on Akko’s shoulders seems to be lifted. “I was just worried because… I didn’t want to see you having a hard time as a result of me making a dumb mistake.”

“All I needed was some rest. I’m feeling much better now. And I’m glad you are too,” Diana tells her gently. 

Akko grins. “I am. Thanks to you. I really owe you one, don’t I?”

“You can repay me by wearing a helmet the next time you go flying,” Diana jokes and she and Akko take a moment to laugh, but they both know there’s still a seriousness to her statement.

“I promise I’ll be more careful,” Akko says.

“Good. Because if I see you get hurt like that again, I can’t promise I won’t do exactly what I did today.”

Akko knows there’d be no point arguing with her. If she were the one with the healing abilities, she would just as well have to act rather than stand by while Diana was injured. And maybe there were things about healing magic she hadn’t understood, things that still nag at the back of her head and bring her small amounts of worry. But she’ll trust Diana and for her sake, strive to be more careful. 

And if there were ever a time she had to perform another big healing spell on Akko, then Akko would be there afterward to make sure she was alright. Because she isn’t going to have Diana give without giving anything back.

**Author's Note:**

> Another day of me dusting off an old WIP and finally completing it. I really like this one though because I’ve had the idea for healing magic for so long. I feel like it would just be too easy having witches cast a spell and fix everything. There’s gotta be some drawback there because I just think it feels more balanced that way. But anyway, thanks so much for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed it!


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